Tag Archives: circumcised

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ENTER TIMOTHY – 36

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“Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭1‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Paul’s first ports of call were the towns he and Barnabas had visited on their first missionary journey. One can imagine how anxious he must have been to see whether the believers were still standing firm. After all, without any means of communication to keep them in touch, except perhaps from an occasional traveler from that region, he had no idea what had happened in the intervening years. 

Then Paul met Timothy! There must have been an immediate connection…Paul, the seasoned believer and Timothy, the young recruit…because this association lasted and became a deep, strong  bond and partnership until the end of Paul’s days. 

As we follow the story, Paul took Timothy under his wing, mentored him, and prepared him for the task of pastoring the church in Ephesus…obviously an important church since it was the first church Jesus addressed in His  letters to the seven churches in Asia. 

Paul’s letters to Timothy form an important part of our understanding of the way church leaders are to govern the churches…personal, and yet universal in their application to church life then and now. Paul was ever leading, guiding, and mentoring Timothy in his mammoth task of pastoring a city church in a pagan environment. 

Paul’s first task was to give Timothy on-the-job training…so he took Timothy with him on his travels. What an opportunity for this young Christian soldier to learn from a veteran! Many were the hours of teaching and tutoring as they walked along the Roman roads from town to town. No quick flights from place to place…no tedious bus rides…not even a donkey or a camel to carry them and their baggage…. But Timothy learned and grew in wisdom and understanding as he walked beside his older companion. 

“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

‭‭After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭6‬-‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

After some divine interventions, this group of travellers finally reached the coast. A vision in the night convinced Paul that they should move on into Europe. Well! That was the beginning of a new and thrilling chapter in this story of God and people working together. 

The very next day…since the instruction was clear and there was no time to lose…they prepared and set off on the next leg of their missionary journey. 

“From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. From there we traveled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that district of Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭11‬-‭12‬ ‭NIV‬‬

There was no need to make prior bookings…they simply caught the next ship to Macedonia and disembarked at Neapolis to finish their journey to Philippi, the capital of Macedonia. 

In a strange country, in a foreign city, where should they start? They followed the trail to the river…a well-known place of prayer….

“On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message. When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭16‬:‭13‬-‭15‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Lydia was waiting…planted by the Lord to be the first convert in Europe. 

So, their obedience to the Spirit was confirmed. The door to the continent of Europe began to swing wide open. They had found an ally and a generous hostess in Lydia, the wealthy woman who had been the first to believe in 

Jesus. 

Despite the Jewish cultural contempt for women, God has his place for them in the growth and administration of His kingdom on earth. In the kingdom of God, there is a place for everyone…of every colour and culture, clan and nationality. All are equal in His sight with equal value and equal opportunity. While humans love to put people into categories and treat them accordingly…not God! We are loved…we are valued…we are useful. 

The first church in Europe was planted in Philippi…a church which became special to Paul. He wrote a joyful letter to them, despite his imprisonment in Rome, with details of his personal life, his passion and his heart for Jesus… and his appreciation for their partnership with him in the gospel. Some of the most loved verses of Scripture came from this letter. 

Europe’s door was open…and so was the door to persecution, suffering, imprisonment and, finally, martyrdom…at the hands of the Roman tyrant, Nero….and Timothy was in it all with Paul…loved, trusted, and worthy companion and student beside the greatest of all the apostles. 

To be continued 

ACTS THE SEQUEL…ERROR CREEPS IN – 34

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“Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

Once again, the enemy was on the warpath…introducing a far more subtle strategy than persecution. If he could not destroy the church from outside, he would attack from within…mess with their minds…subtly introduce religion…one of his favourite weapons to confuse and capture people through fear. 

What does religion do? Religion introduces the very thing that destroys faith…fear. Why fear? Fear is the fruit of uncertainty. Religion demands performance. I must do what the deity demands.  Have I done enough to satisfy God? This is the exact opposite of faith because faith rests on the finished work of Jesus while fear is the insecurity of not knowing, based on what I do. 

This line of attack came straight out of Judaism…and the demands of the law. To be sure of your salvation, and to gain entry into  God’s kingdom, you were obliged to submit to the rite of circumcision as well as to keep the laws God gave as the terms of His covenant.  The trouble was, as Paul later pointed out to the Galatian church which was also assaulted by the Judaisers, you could not single out one law and ignore the rest. To obey one law as a means of satisfying God’s requirements was not enough. Which one would you choose…and what about the rest? You had to keep the whole law… and that meant cancelling faith as a way of salvation. 

This intervention was so troublesome that it almost split the church in Antioch. So, go sort this out, once and for all, in Jerusalem where the big shots were presiding. 

“This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad.”

Of course, Paul and Barnabas, experienced as they were in preaching to the Gentiles and winning them to faith in Jesus without circumcision, told their story along the way as they proceeded to Jerusalem. 

“When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

They did the same in Jerusalem, as a preparation for the debate. Who could argue for circumcision when a whole new phase of the church had opened up in Asia Minor among the Gentiles without their first being circumcised. 

“Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question.”

The debate began…the issues carefully discussed. Good old Peter…the one who had disappeared after he was almost assassinated…the one who had almost fallen, due to the same error, in Antioch…the one whom Paul had to rebuke for hypocrisy…he put the cherry on the top. 

“After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe…”

Peter repeated his story about Cornelius and his household, a case study about Gentiles who had believed when he, Peter, had preached the gospel to them. That finally settled the matter. God did not require obedience to circumcision or any other law for Gentiles or Jews to be saved. The gospel of Jesus was enough. 

“Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Jews had tried this way to be saved and had failed dismally, as their history had recorded, so why should the Gentiles be expected to do any better? Grace that bypassed works was God‘s infallible way of salvation. 

On the strength of Old Testament prophecy, which confirmed what God was doing, the company decided to make an official declaration to the Gentile churches…that circumcision was out. 

“Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: …’that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’—”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭14‬-‭15‬, ‭17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

So, the matter was finally and officially settled and communicated in a letter to the churches. 

“Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. With them they sent the following letter: The apostles and elders, your brothers, To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings… It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell.”

‭‭Acts‬ ‭15‬:‭22‬-‭23‬, ‭28‬-‭29‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Defeated again! In partnership with God the Holy Spirit, the door was closed to another onslaught on the fragile church, strengthening their commitment to Jesus as the Lord and only Saviour of sinners. Once again, the gap between the church and the devotees of Judaism was widening…and with it, the protection the Jews enjoyed from the Roman government.

Before long, the full might of Roman opposition, under the rule of Nero, would rain down on the believers…opening the door to a season of cruel and ruthless persecution…but the devil still could not win. 

The two dauntless missionaries would soon be on the road again, soldiering on against Jewish and Roman aggression, to sow the seeds of truth into fertile fields in Europe, and finally reaching the centre of the empire, Rome itself. 

To be continued

THE BOOK OF ACTS – STICK WITH JESUS

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CHAPTER 15

STICK WITH JESUS

“It wasn’t long before some Jews showed up from Judea insisting that everyone be circumcised. ’If you’re not circumcised in the Mosaic fashion, you can’t be saved.’ Paul and Barnabas were up on their feet at once in fierce protest. The church decided to resolve the matter by sending Paul and Barnabas, and a few others to put it before the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem.” Acts 15:1-2 (The Message).

Why the fuss? Such an insignificant matter! Who cares whether men are circumcised or not? What difference does a small surgical procedure make to their salvation?

A small matter but a very a big issue! It was big enough for Paul to write a letter to the Galatian believers to deliver a heated protest against a teaching which would undermine the very foundation of their salvation. It was serious enough for the church leaders to take action immediately, to nip in the bud a practice that would undo the finished work of Jesus for those who submitted to circumcision, and take them back into self-effort, slavery and failure.

A whole world of meaning was packed into Jesus’ final words on the cross: ‘It is finished.’ His death and resurrection put an end to all the demands of the Law as a way of being acceptable to God. Even if we obeyed God perfectly in every detail of what He expects of us from now on, (which is impossible anyway), we still have the problem of our past and the guilt we have incurred by disobeying God.

Jesus offered Himself up to God as an atoning sacrifice and His offering was accepted as the morally perfect Lamb who took our place because He had no sin of His own to die for. What He did was enough and complete, and we cannot and must not try to improve on it by adding anything to what He has done.

These Jews, who were insisting that Gentiles adopt the old covenant given to His people at Mount Sinai by being circumcised, were saying, in effect, that the sacrifice of Jesus was insufficient to satisfy God’s justice. To make His work effective, we have to add to what Jesus did by trying to keep the Law.

Whatever we add to Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross nullifies His work and puts us back under obligation to fulfil all the requirements of the old covenant. We cannot pick and choose what we will do and what we won’t do. The agreement God entered into with His people at Mount Sinai was a package deal and demands perfect obedience to every detail.

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who has let himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law.” Galatians 5:1-3 (NIV).

What is your “circumcision” that you have added to Jesus’ complete work on the cross, to make His salvation effective for you? Do you have to carry out rituals, obey dietary laws, observe special days or seasons, “work for Jesus”, or do anything to get God’s attention or to win His approval instead of just being His son or daughter?

If you do, you are outside the reach of God’s grace. “You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.” Galatians 5:4 (NIV).

What is the real issue here? It’s the attitude of our hearts. Are we slaves or sons? Slaves have to work hard to please their master. Sons are free just to be sons. “Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, ‘Abba, Father’. So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir.” Galatians 4:6-7 (NIV).

A Sign Of Ownership

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A SIGN OF OWNERSHIP

In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self – ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through your faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. (Col. 2:11-12).

What was the purpose of circumcision in God’s covenant with Abraham?

Then God said to Abraham, ‘This is my covenant with you and with your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised . . . My covenant in your flesh is to be an everlasting covenant. (Gen. 17: 9-11a; 13b).

Circumcision was a sign of ownership. It set God’s people apart from every other male in every other nation. No doubt, when Joseph finally revealed himself to his brothers, how would he have convinced them that he was indeed Joseph? By his mark of ownership as a Hebrew!

The Jews were God’s people by right of birth and ownership. Every Jewish parent would ensure that their sons carry their mark of ownership in their flesh. This was to be symbolic of a greater spiritual reality which would be revealed through Christ. Believers carry a mark of ownership, not in the flesh, but in the spirit, which sets us apart as belonging to God.

Paul spoke of a principle which applies in many areas of our lives – revealed in 1 Cor. 15: 46: The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. It applies here as well. Circumcision was to be a physical (or natural) sign which would be followed by the spiritual when the truth was revealed in Christ.

Many streams in the church have seen baptism as the counterpart of circumcision and have developed the doctrine of paedo-baptism as the sign of God’s covenant. Just as  boys were circumcised eight days after birth to show that they were included in the Abrahamic covenant, so infants are ‘baptised’ to include them in the New Covenant.

However, this idea conflicts with the teaching of Scripture, clearly indicated here, as in many other places (through your faith in the working of God), that it is faith in Christ, of which infants are incapable, that brings people into the New Covenant, not infant baptism.

What is the sign of the New Covenant, the sign of ownership? Paul was in no way teaching that baptism is the sign of the New Covenant which would contradict the principle of ‘first the natural, then the spiritual’.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession – to the praise of His glory (Eph. 1: 13-14).

Paul could not have stated this truth more clearly. God marked us with His seal of ownership, the Holy Spirit who is in us, when we confessed that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that God raised Him from the dead (Rom. 10: 9-10).

What, then, is the purpose of baptism? Baptism was both initiation into and identification with a person, an office or a teaching to indicate publicly that the one being baptised had a new status. Baptism – or ritual washing was a common practice in Jesus’s day. John the Baptist initiated people who identified with him into his teaching about the Messiah, calling them to repent and identify with the One he was introducing to them. Baptism is, therefore the public, visible witness to our identity with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection.

Through baptism we are telling the world that we have died to ourselves and have a new owner, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose Spirit in us sets us apart as God’s possession. We have left the old life of sin and the flesh and are now living in union with Jesus and in submission and obedience to Him.

As the covenant people of God, set apart to Him and marked by circumcision, the Jews were to live in obedience to His commands, which they did not because they were without the Holy Spirit. We who have the Spirit are able to put to death the deeds of the flesh through His power and live a new life In Christ because of what Jesus Christ has done for us.

We must become who we are.

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Righteousness God’s Way

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RIGHTEOUSNESS GOD’S WAY

“If someone thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.” Philippians 3:4b-7.

From a Jewish perspective, Paul’s credentials were pretty impressive. He was pure Jew, pure Pharisee and fanatically religious. He did everything by the book and he did everything right – according to himself. Few could measure up to him, not even those with whom Jesus contended but, and that was just the point, like Jesus’ opponents, he measured himself by himself and came up shining.

The problem was not in his effort to be righteous – that was commendable – but in his confidence in his achievement which put him a cut above everyone else in his own estimation. This is exactly where God parted company with him. All Paul’s efforts to meet His standard fell horribly short and left him with zero righteousness. The trouble was that he did not know it until he came face to face with Jesus.

 

It was that one encounter that changed everything. All Paul’s impressive achievements were the result of self-effort and were stained and blemished with arrogant pride. Only in the pure light of Jesus’ holiness did he see himself for what he really was, a wretched sinner who was no better than anyone else. Not only was he knocked to the ground by the presence of the glorified Jesus, but he was also knocked out, figuratively, by what he saw. For a second he saw Him and then he saw nothing, completely blinded by the brilliance of the one he was trying to eliminate.

What was his response? He took his entire CV – his pedigree, his learning, his hard work, his religious zeal, his achievements, his confidence and his pride – and dumped it in the trash can. It was all of no use to him. It had got him nowhere in his effort to satisfy God’s demands, and it would only hinder him in the future in his new-found understanding of what God had done.

“What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.” Philippians 3:8, 9.

This is one of those typical Paul-sentences! We need to take it apart to understand what he was saying.

1. All his efforts to do the right thing according to God’s standards were a load of garbage and a waste of time which he regretted.

2. He had to dump everything he had ever achieved and start all over again.

3. Righteousness that satisfied God’s holiness did not come from what he did for God but from what Jesus Christ did for him.4. God’s righteousness was not achieved by working for it but received by believing what God said.

5. Jesus, not self-effort was Paul’s key to being acceptable to God. Only His perfection was good enough for God and He became his when he receive Him by faith.

And now?

“I want to know Christ – yes, to know the power of His resurrection and participation in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death and so, somehow attaining to the resurrection from the dead.” Philippians 3:10, 11.

The way this is translated makes it seem as though Paul was back to having to work for the benefits of Christ’s salvation. He was not expressing a desire as much as he was stating a fact. It was through faith in God’s promise that he received Christ’s righteousness as a gift and through that same faith he received the benefits – knowing Jesus and experiencing the power of His resurrection.

From God’s point of view it was a package deal. Everything Paul ever needed was given to him in Christ; forgiveness of sin, a new standing with God, the Holy Spirit – the spirit of sonship – and the power of the Spirit to overcome the ravages of his fleshly nature to become a true son of God. None of this required effort – only continuing faith in God to make him what he could not make himself.

This is true righteousness!

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.